Enter Slide 6 Title

Enter Slide 7 Title

Enter Slide 8 Title

Enter Slide 9 Title

Monday, October 24, 2011

This
early, the Rookie Class of 2011 is
looming to be as one of the best. Paul
Lee and Chris Lutz are dynamite for their respective squads while Marcio Lassiter, Dylan Ababou, Mac
Baracael, and Allein Maliksi have had flashes of brilliance.

So
here’s the thing – I have two PBA Hardcourt
annuals in my possession. One is the 2010-11
PBA annual and the other is the 2003-04
PBA annual. If I had information with regards to the other players then I
would have placed them in but as it stood, my information is extremely limited.

I will
list down the twenty best players with awesome rookie stats. Initially I was
bent on putting players that were still active as of the 2010-11 season but I
widened my search parameters to those that got to play in the 2003 PBA season.

I am
open to expanding this a little further.

THE SCORING
SYSTEM:

I used
the defunct PBFANTASY equation. I
altered the scoring (from PBFantasy’s 1 to 1.25) and I adjusted their stats
with their minutes.

GAME
STARTS NOW!

THE TOP
TWENTY:

* still active

20
MIKE CORTEZ* / ALASKA (2003)

STATS: 11.4PPG – 4.4RPG – 4.2APG
– 1.5SPG – 34.9MPG

A
month before the 2003 PBA Draft, Tim Cone had the Cool Cat as his top pick
despite the availability of Romel Adducul and Enrico Villanueva. Cortez owned
Alaska’s PG’s spot and while he failed to give the Aces a championship, he did
what is needed for the Aces.

19
MICK PENNISI* / RED BULL (2000)

STATS: 10.5PPG – 7.4RPG – 2.3APG
– 1.7BPG – 39.2MPG

The
Slick was a midseason direct hire Fil-Am by the Thunder and Yeng Guiao forced
him to play big time minutes because Kerby Raymundo was banned for a season
because of documents falsification. Red Bull never looked like an expansion team
with him and Davonn Harp manning the paint.

18
JERRY CODINERA / PUREFOODS (1988)

STATS: 11.5PPG – 8.7RPG – 1.1APG
– 1.9BPG – 32.4MPG

One of
the six PABL players acquired by the expansion franchise, it didn’t took long
for the former National team claim caroms and swat shots and give Purefoods
Hotdogs a ton of accolades. The former UE Warrior would be the Hotdogs’ main
draw at the paint until Alvin Patrimonio came to the picture.

17
JAY-R REYES* / WELCOAT (2006)

STATS: 12.5PPG – 8.9RPG – 1.1APG
– 1.6BPG – 34.5MPG

Unlike
past expansion squads, the Dragons never had the chance to claim a big-time
frontline. They had Reyes and Jun-Jun Cabatu to man the inside which gave their
opponents a field day at the paint. For what its worth for Jay-R, he made his
PBA debut a jumping point for bigger things to come.

16
GABE NORWOOD* / RAIN OR SHINE (2008)

STATS: 11.5PPG – 8.0RPG – 3.3APG
– 1.2SPG – 36.4MPG

No
question, when Norwood came to the scene the whipping boys that was Welcoat evolved
into a squad destined for greatness. Norwood might have disappointed people
because he is more of a passer than a scorer but he did the damage where it
mattered the most.

15
ARWIND SANTOS* / AIR21 (2006)

STATS: 14.2PPG – 8.3RPG – 0.9APG
– 0.8SPG – 1.2BPG – 29.0MPG

After
an impressive college and PBL career, Santos was selected second by Air21 in
the 2006 PBA Draft. The rest is history – with Santos showing everyone that he
can play almost any position and get the stats that other players don’t usually
get.

14
RUDY HATFIELD / TANDUAY (2000)

STATS: 13.3PPG – 9.5RPG – 2.1APG
– 1.0SPG – 37.6MPG

Hatfield
was a walk-on applicant from the MBA’s Laguna Lakers to try his luck with
Tanduay. Combining the H-Bomb with Eric Menk, Dondon Hontiveros, and Sonny
Alvarado, the Rhum Masters all of a sudden got a pretty powerful squad that
only citizenship issues could destroy.

13
JIMMY ALAPAG* / TALK N TEXT (2003)

STATS: 14.5PPG – 3.9RPG – 7.0APG
– 0.9SPG – 37.6MPG

Drafted
tenth by Talk N Text in the 2003 PBA Draft, the Phone Pals suddenly got the
missing piece of their puzzle. Alapag would play great music with Asi Taulava
and he was helpful in making Talk N Text title threats. Before his stint, he
invited by Ron Jacobs to try out for the 2002 National Team.

12
ALVIN PATRIMONIO / PUREFOODS (1988)

STATS: 17.2PPG – 8.8RPG – 1.6APG
– 1.0BPG – 33.1MPG

After
finishing his PABL commitments (Swift is the product rival of Purefoods),
Patrimonio debuted in mid-1988. Missing 25 of the team’s 58 games, The Captain
showed people why his entry was so important. He gave the team a credible
post-up scorer that has range and can impose his will on the inside.

11
ANDY SEIGLE / MOBILINE (1997)

STATS: 13.5PPG – 9.9RPG – 2.3APG
– 1.7BPG – 35.4MPG

Shocked?
I bet you are. In 1997, Seigle would jumpstart the Fil-Am invasion. Seigle
would give the Mobiline Phone Pals an inside threat that would take out
Mobiline (once called Pepsi) from the bottom of the standings. He would be the
team’s poster child until the entry of Jeff Cariaso.

10
DANNY SEIGLE* / SAN MIGUEL (1999)

STATS: 19.2PPG – 7.2RPG – 2.0APG
– 0.7SPG – 0.7BPG – 40.7MPG

Like
his brother, Danny would excite the league in his first year. Unlike his
brother though, Dynamite Danny would rather shoot and slash than bang bodies on
the inside. He almost became the second Rookie MVP of the league except that
Benjie Paras, the first Rookie MVP, beat him to the punch.

9
KELLY WILLIAMS* / STA. LUCIA (2006)

STATS: 17.3PPG – 9.6RPG – 1.7APG
– 1.2SPG – 39.2MPG

Discovered
by Chot Reyes while preparing for the 2007 FIBA-Asia Championship, Williams
became the Realtors’ fourth top pick and he did not disappoint. Conferences
before he gave SLR their second title, Machine Gun Kelly gave the squad a
top-tier scorer that would also propel their defense.

8
NOLI LOCSIN / TONDENA (1994)

STATS: 18.5PPG – 8.8RPG – 2.9APG
– 0.8SPG – 0.8BPG – 34.9MPG

Noli
Locsin was Robert Jaworski’s pride and joy when his 80’s squad have either
retired or moved on to other squads. Locsin might have starred the team during
their dark days but as we all know, Locsin was the first right piece to Ginebra’s
eventual success in the 90’s.

7
MARLOU AQUINO / GINEBRA (1996)

STATS: 17.9PPG – 9.0RPG – 1.8APG
– 2.8BPG – 40.7MPG

After
leading Stag Pale Pilsen in a rare PBL grand slam in 1995, The Skyscraper was
picked first in the 1996 PBA Draft. With Bal David tagging alone, the Kings all
of a sudden went from cellar dwellers to title hunters. Back then, Aquino was
part of the league’s elite and his uninspired play has yet to be seen by Pinoy
hoop lovers.

6
JOHNNY ABARRIENTOS / ALASKA (1993)

STATS: 16.1PPG – 4.8RPG – 6.6APG
– 2.7SPG – 35.9MPG

For
years, Abarrientos was the “Jeff” part of FEU’s Mutt and Jeff combo. When he
arrived in Alaska, he proved to the critics that he can work well minus Victor
Pablo. His great play made the volatile Bong Alvarez unwanted (he was traded to
Sta. Lucia for Bong Hawkins) and his entry sealed the deal on what is the
fourth grand slam season of the league.

5
JUN LIMPOT / STA. LUCIA (1993)

STATS: 20.6PPG – 8.1RPG – 2.3APG
– 1.6BPG – 39.8MPG

In the
1993 Draft, Jun Limpot was the league’s most sought after amateur. While Sta.
Lucia lost Allan Caidic to San Miguel and eventually Vergel Meneses to Swift,
they have Limpot as their franchise player. His rookie season was far from
disappointing as he was adjudged the Rookie of the Year at the season’s end.

4
DAVONN HARP / RED BULL (2000)

STATS: 13.8PPG – 11.2RPG – 5.2APG
– 1.5BPG – 44.1MPG

While his
entry here is questionable since he is a Fil-Sham, he is still part of Red Bull’s
lineup. Actually Harp was part of Red Bull’s PBL lineup. After a dismal debut
(he shot two airballs in his first trip to the charity stripe), The Anchor got
to his groove and became the double-double magnet Yeng Guiao drooled upon.

3
ASI TAULAVA* / MOBILINE (1999)

STATS: 17.7PPG – 12.0RPG – 3.3APG
– 0.8BPG – 43.1MPG

The
bleached hair phenom from PBL’s Blu Detergent was heavily sought but it was Mobiline
that won his services. He formed a triumvirate with Jeffrey Cariaso and Andy
Seigle which was seriously feared by competitors. However while he administered
pain to his foes, it was hard for him to win a title. In fact his rookie season
had him crying when Bal David threw a freak halfcourt heave that eliminated the
then-top seed Phone Pals in the 1999 All-Filipino Cup.

2
ERIC MENK* / TANDUAY (1999)

STATS: 20.1PPG – 13.1RPG – 2.7APG
– 44.6MPG

There
was a reason why Mark Telan had a bad rookie season and Chris Cantonjos’ pro
game never got going. When PBL’s Stag changed names and became Tanduay, they
took in a hard-working center named Eric Menk. Menk would give Alfrancis Chua a
slew of titles and when the team went to the PBA, the mentor took in Menk as
their direct hire Fil-Am. Menk was a monster offensively and defensively for
the Rhum Masters and he could have won the MVP had not for Tanduay’s so-so
29-21 win-loss record.

1
BENJIE PARAS / SHELL (1989)

STATS: 25.8PPG – 13.0RPG – 2.1APG
– 2.6BPG – 41.4MPG

There
is a reason why despite the fact that San Miguel won a grand slam in 1989, the
Tower of Power was the one to claim MVP honors. This is also considering that
Paras was then a rookie. If you check out his numbers, they rival import
numbers of this era. Paras with his big hair and goatee-less face wowed the
crowds with his combined power and finesse. He also led Shell Rimula X with a
runner up finish and a third-place ranking in that season. Even if Hector Calma
and Ramon Fernandez were part of the Mythical Five, there is no way that they
can take out Paras from his Rookie MVP destiny. In his first eight seasons,
Paras would average 16 points and more.

I am
willing to edit this list. If you have the rookie stats of Allan Caidic, Jojo Lastimosa, Ato Agustin, Samboy Lim, Hector Calma,
and Bong Alvarez... feel free to send it to me. Hell, if you have the stats
of VINTAGE stars like Robert Jaworski,
Ramon Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, Atoy Co, Philip Cezar, Abet Guidaben, Francis
Arnaiz, Lim Eng Beng, Manny Paner, Jun Papa, Freddie Hubalde, Estoy Estrada,
Danny Florencio, Larry Mumar, and the rest of the 70’s all stars, feel free
to give it to me.

However,
you must give me the following data to make me check out what you gave:

TOTAL ROOKIE SEASON POINTS +
TOTAL ROOKIE SEASON REBOUNDS + TOTAL ROOKIE SEASON ASSISTS + TOTAL ROOKIE
SEASON STEALS + TOTAL ROOKIE SEASON BLOCKS + TOTAL ROOKIE SEASON MINUTES.

Yes, I
know that the pioneers do not have steals and blocks stats but maybe I can
figure something out.

Anyway,
for questions and comments, do log it on the comments section.